The Brothels of Imperial Russia
4/24/202646 min
In today's episode we're taking you back to the brothels of 19th century St. Petersburg.
Sex work was legalised under the Emperor Nicholas I, but what was life like for sex workers? Why did they have to carry yellow tickets? And why did sex work there differ to the rest of Europe?
Joining Kate today is Dr. Colleen Lucey, Associate Professor of Russian and Slavic Studies at the University of Arizona, to take us back to Imperial Russia to find out.
This episode was edited by Hannah Feodorov. The producer was Stuart Beckwith. The senior producer was Freddy Chick.
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All music from Epidemic Sounds.
Betwixt the Sheets: History of Sex, Scandal & Society is a History Hit podcast.
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First 90 secondsKate Lister· Host0:00
Do you want even more shocking and scandalous history? Like why the ancient Greek statues had such small manhoods, or what went on behind closed doors in the Georgian era? Well, sign up to History Hit, where you can see me discover the scandalous side of history, as well as hundreds of hours of original documentaries, plus new releases every week, covering everything from prehistoric Scotland to the Treaty of Versailles. Sign up to join me in locations around the world and explore the past. Just visit historyhit.com/subscribe. Hello, my lovely Betwixtors. It's me, Kate Lister. I'm me, you're you, and this is Betwixt the Sheets. Hello, and welcome back. Thanks for dropping by. But before we go any further, I do have to tell you, oh, once again, I think you know what's coming. Yep. This is an adult podcast spoken by adults to other adults about adulty things in an adulty way, covering a range of adult subjects. You should be an adult too. Right, on with the show. [gentle music] It's the 1850s, Betwixtors, and we are in St. Petersburg, Imperial Russia's window to the West. It's a fascinating time to be in Haymarket Square, listeners, walking amongst the dusty streets and the crowded taverns because this was the epicenter of sex work at a time when it had just been legalized by Nicholas I. But who was he legalizing it for? Whose interests